UNDP signs MoU with Peking University Centre for New Structural Economics

May 18, 2016

New York - The Peking University Centre for New Structural Economics (CNSE) and UNDP today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership in promoting economic structural transformation in Africa and beyond, at the ‘Economic Transformation and South-South Cooperation’ event.

The new partnership aims to advance research, policy dialogue and capacity development support on economic transformation. The MoU is being signed at a time when the 19th Session of the General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation is meeting at the United Nations headquarters to review progress in scaling-up global support to South-South cooperation.

“Sustained economic growth, the foundation for reducing poverty and converging to high income, is now understood to be the result of incessant structural change through continued technological innovation and industrial upgrading and diversification,” said Mr. Tegegnework Gettu, Associate Administrator of UNDP, highlighting the importance of structural economic transformation, especially for African countries in order to build on their current progress.

“Structural transformation is the key to poverty reduction, job creation, industrial upgrading and economic diversification for sustainable and inclusive growth to achieve shared prosperity,” said Professor Justin Yifu Lin, Director of the CNSE.

“The GReCEST will build up an open platform for advancing frontier thinking and mutual learning on economic structural transformation. Its launch marks the beginning of taking action for advancing new ideas, action for partnership, and action for development results thought South-South and triangular cooperation,” he added.

Minister Counsellor Luo Jin from the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China congratulated and expressed support and goodwill to the fruitful cooperation between UNDP and CNSE.

The distinguished participants present at the occasion shared their perspectives on economic structural transformation and examples of countries who were able to reduce poverty significantly through industrial and agricultural reforms, and related how such changes could contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals adopted by world leaders in September last year, aim to end poverty, fight inequality and justice, and tackle climate change by 2030.